Obesity is in the news daily and we are always hearing about the problems related to heart disease and diabetes in the news. Parents constantly complain that their teens don't exercise but are glued to their video consoles or sitting on the couch eating and testing. We live in a time where it's easy to be inactive and pick up extra pounds.
Where does yoga come in for helping this issue? First of all it improves one's flexibility, strength and general health. Certain forms of yoga, such as kundalini, work a lot with the glands and focusing on the thyroid and other glands can help the body's circulation and secretions. Becoming calmer helps reduce the urge to use foods for comfort. Many times people use eating to compensate for disappointments and negative emotions. When you gain more control over your mind through the practice of yoga and meditation, you will not depend on food as a psychological comfort in the same way. Also, increasing the lung capacity and deepening one's breathing will increase the oxygen that reaches every cell in our body. Some say that when there is obesity, there is a lack of oxygen reaching the fat cells.
People that do yoga often get involved in something aerobic for other days of the week. This adds an aerobic component into one's program that will help to burn fat. There are some forms of yoga that are also dynamic and utilize a continuous flow of the sun salutation exercises. This is a good way to be active and get stronger as well.
By being more content within oneself, food is not turned to as a way to bury pain or hide feelings. Hunger has a psychological component and often people think they are hungry when they are really trying to erase difficult emotions through distracting themselves. Yoga turns one inward to not turn to externals as a way to get relief. This in turn will lead to a healthier relation to eating.
0 comments:
Post a Comment